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Pacific Hacienda in Blue and White

An American deisgner's hacienda on Meixco's Pacific shore is dressed in indigenous style

Written by Candace Ord Manroe

Sporting cool linens the color of hot beach sand, designer Thomas Bartlett strolls the manicured gardens of Hacienda La Penita as though he hasn’t a care in the world. In fact, he doesn’t have many—his red-tile-roofed, white-stucco vacation home in the tiny seaside village of La Penita de Jaltemba, an hour’s drive from Puerto Vallarta, is working its faithful magic.

Massive talavera pots establish the outdoor decorating theme.

"Even though it’s only a three-hour plane ride and an hour’s time-zone difference from my home in California, it’s a totally different world," says the Napa designer, whose work has appeared in 35yaoxiao. "And it doesn’t require a lot of preparation to get here. Then the relaxation kicks in. Concerns vanish, and the margaritas begin to flow," he says between sips from a glass thickly rimmed with salt.

Alfresco dining on the balcony offers views of the beach and the palupa—a shady shelter.

Frequently opening his home to guests, he is the consummate host. In April, five house guests enjoyed his hospitality—as always, the food and margaritas were abundant—and he anticipates more celebrations ahead.

Barley-twist carved columns of Mexican cantera stone stand sentinel on the patio, which is furnished with traditional Mexican equipal pieces

"Last year, I was here 13 times for a total of 14 weeks. My goal is to stay four months." Thanksgiving and his daughter’s birthday are celebrated in the Mexican vacation home. One week each year, vintner Robert Mondavi and his wife enjoy a stay at the home, the vacation their prize as high bidders in a Napa museum fund-raising auction.

"They love the peacefulness, as do I. There’s no TV, and the only time I play music is during meals," says Thomas. "Otherwise, I thoroughly enjoy the sound of the waves and the many different species of birds that are always chattering."

Birdsong helps explain why the urge to unwind begins before even entering the house. It starts in the 2 1⁄2-acre garden with a profusion of palm fronds waving in the breeze. (Thomas grows 13 palm species.) A crisp allée of 48 citrus trees tempers the palms’ undisciplined edges and sweetens the air in the garden and house.

Skeins of blue trumpet and cup-of-gold vines spill over the garden wall and the house, and blue plumbago and white and yellow hibiscus splash color everywhere else. Ferns planted in traditional talavera (Mexican majolica from Puebla) pots flank entries and outdoor sitting spaces; leaving no area of the gardens without greenery.

Thomas Bartlett designed this canvas-covered equipal sofa; Huichol yarn art above it is displayed in a silver-gilt frame custom-made in Puerto Vallarta. Mixed with the Mexicana is an 18th-century French chest and a fine French linen-and-cotton rug.

If the garden doesn’t trigger alpha waves or a milder state of sublimity, there’s always pet therapy: A pair of irresistibly friendly Chihuahuas have the run of the house all year long. Mexican staff members spoil them as much as Thomas does, and his attentions are shameless.Topping out at almost 6-foot-4, he’s a study in contrasts as he totes a tiny bundle under each arm from the house right up to an outdoor dining table. "Nothing’s too good for Señorita Quatro," he purrs. The dog taps her nails on the tabletop while Romeo, her male companion, quietly observes from Thomas’s lap. "But it’s really the white cat who rules the roost," he says, nodding to the cat placidly sunning on the patio below.

The dining area features rustic Indonesian chairs, an antique Mexican table, a dramatic embroidered wall hanging, and a reproduction Guadalajara chest.

Because he believes outdoor living is as important as indoor, he carries the decorative design seamlessly outdoors. "I wanted to evoke ocean and sky, so I did the house in blues accented with pale yellows and whites.

The entryway's new chest crafted from old wood displays talavera pottery, and on the wall behind, a Bacchus head is filled with cup-of-gold blossoms.

I wanted to use furnishings indigenous to Mexico, mixed with a European feeling inspired by Portuguese style, with a little Italian—as though Andrea Palladio [the Italian architect of Palladian window fame] had visited Portugal and somehow ended up here ," he explains.

An 18th-century-style console caddies ceramic tiles and vessels.

A traditional tin-and-glass cross

Equipal furniture—classic Mexican seating of leather stretched over wood—is a recurring native design. But Thomas’s pieces are larger than most. "I had to have them custom-made in Puerto Vallarta to fit my scale." Accessories throughout the home also represent the country. "My rugs are from Oaxaca. The tin-and-glass sconces are from Tlaquepaque. And the chest of drawers in the dining room is an adaptation of a fine Mexican antique."

The master bedroom mixes a Mexican console and desk with 19th-century Portuguese chairs covered in Fortuny. The lantern is classic Mexican tin art.

Mexican embroidery is framed in a simple shadow box

The exquisitely painted hand carvings on the gate, doors, and headboards were a team effort: Thomas drew the designs; accomplished muralist Antoinette, the Baroness von Grone, transformed them to full-size cartoons; and decorative painter Carole Lansdown did the final coloration. "This place is a lifetime project for me. I’ll never be done," Thomas happily insists.